June 3-7 is COMPUTEX 2014 in Taipei and Smith will be live on the show floor with updates and news of one of the most important shows of the year, so stop by and visit us at Booth J0601 in Nangang Hall, 1F in the Components and Parts Area. Last year there was a heavy focus on "Smart Life" and this year we see that the role of smart tech continuing, particularly in light of over 1,000 cities activating Smart City development projects all over the world, according to COMPUTEX 2014.

IoT and SmarTech expansion

This year's theme dubbed "SmarTech" builds on the momentum of smart cities' growth as global urbanization expands and more emerging markets open for tech adoption and solutions for growing populations. As clearly offered, "COMPUTEX aims to be one of the major exhibitions of Smart City supply chain." With this offering comes the innovation and momentum of new supply chain connections and opportunities to support various scales of the Internet of Things (IoT) from consumer to municipal level connectivity and support and connecting devices from smart phones to vehicles and commercial equipment for dynamic solutions. The e21Forum 2014 on June 3 will provide additional opportunities to explore new IoT solutions and the opportunities of truly ubiquitous computing.

While there are many R&D aspects and futuristic visions that we all can enjoy, the important, tangible moment for the industry is the requirement of increased semiconductor and electronic components and devices needed across a variety of sectors and systems in order to support even the most fundamental level of IoT and Smart City goals. With implementations underway already, and with increasing challenges for rapidly growing urban populations (think about traffic, internet, and energy needs for just a start!), Smart City is really no longer a futuristic vision, but a set of needed municipal solutions that are part of mega city planning (see this related article in National Geographic about mega city Houston, TX & Smith's support).

The excitement for IoT and SmarTech is here and the adoption and demand for these solutions by public, enterprise, industry, and governments is strong. The semiconductor and electronics supply chain will necessarily expand and increase in flow as solutions require components and replacement parts. Supporting and connecting the growth in our supply chain is as much part of COMPUTEX as the demonstration of exciting new devices and chip solution series. Working with trusted industry leaders like Smith, who can help navigate the rapid supply chain growth, is important to safeguard quality and ensure the best supply chain strategies are at your fingertips to protect margins and increase your market agility (e.g., inventory management services, anti-counterfeit testing, specialized logistics needs, VMI and PPV).

The solutions on display

The Best Choice Awards at COMPUTEX, call the d&i awards, are always much anticipated to see the highlights of innovative solutions and devices presented by companies spanning our global supply chain. This year there were 477 products competing with 183 exhibitors represented. Among the criteria are developing process, technological creativity, product function, application and usage, exterior design, and operating interface. The results will be announced next week and we are anticipating some significant momentum as these awards support new solutions for the global electronics market.

The many leading companies have begun announcing their solutions that will be on display next week. There are too many to provide a comprehensive list, but some highlights include the following:

Toshiba and Seagate are reported to be showcasing storage products for enterprise solutions to support bulk storage and cloud operations, respectively, according to DigiTimes.

Asus's new, 'thin,' hybrid CE device that has yet to be revealed but is creating marketing momentum.

Dell is taking a different exhibitor approach and rather than having one booth location, is setting up at various locations around COMPUTEX to showcase a variety of its new CE products for personal and enterprise markets.

Intel and ARM are, of course, going to be showcasing their latest chip solutions to support IoT and the SmarTech exhibitors next week. These unveilings include new IoT focused solutions for CE and enterprises, M&A activity, and JVs that improve supply chain connections to push embedded chip solutions for improved device functionality and form factors.

The lists are long and exciting, of course, but the theme of IoT and SmarTech with the real growth truly beginning for Smart Cities is the pulse that supports this year's buzz ahead of COMPUTEX Taipei. We look forward to seeing you in person next week on the show floor, so don't forget to stop by and talk with us – we'd love to hear from you and share ideas: Smith's Booth is located at J0601 in Nangang Hall, 1F in the Components and Parts Area.